Brewing New Possibilities: Roshan Roast
Growing up in Afghanistan, coffee was a foreign drink for Mustafa. "Most people do not drink coffee there. Well, they drink instant coffee, if they drink any,” he recalled. Tea, however, is the national drink. Everyone, everywhere would drink it.
Mustafa quickly became a coffee aficionado once he became a Roshan Roast apprentice. Through barista training at a local coffee shop, he has been exposed to coffee bean varieties, roasting techniques, and brewing methods. "I love the taste and smell of coffee now. Grinding the beans is my favorite part. It always brings me back to my childhood memory of roasting wheat to make one of my favorite snacks," he said.
As a Roshan Roast apprentice, Mustafa is developing his professional skills as he manages the day-to-day operations, sales, and marketing of Roshan Roast through both online and offline channels. He is also finding his network growing as he meets and works with people from different cultural and vocational backgrounds.
His biggest challenge has been building brand awareness and expanding the customer network to increase sales. Through trial and error, he continues to find different ways to market Roshan Roast, especially online. This challenging part has become a driving force for him to be even more creative.
Roshan Roast is a creative partnership with local farmers and business owners to support refugee education in Jakarta. Through this partnership, special batches of beans are exclusively roasted for Roshan and profits from sales help fund Roshan Learning Center. Meanwhile, the project also provides an opportunity for Roshan community members like Mustafa to gain meaningful professional and entrepreneurial experience as interns.
It all started when a Roshan teacher brought back some coffee from her family's farm in Bandung, Tobing Estate. Some Roshan staff began imagining how fun it would be to sell coffee and have the profit support Roshan. An exploratory visit to the plantation followed, and eventually, a special Arabica roast for Roshan was created in late 2019.
Having Roshan Roast to sell at bazaars and different events has given the coffee project some visibility. It attracted another partner, Essential Roastery, which provides two additional varieties of locally grown, single-origin coffee, roasted especially for Roshan. “I'm a person who believes in giving the fishing rod rather than the fish. I think the effort and skill will last longer,” said Yulee Lusiana, one of the owners of Essential Roastery, explaining her motivation to partner with Roshan.
One of Roshan Roast's loyal customers remarked, “I buy Roshan Roast because I know the coffee is coming from local Indonesian farmers, along with the coffee being delicious. This is a very sustainable project that benefits so many and will continue to grow and develop.”
